Who Was Maria?

Maria lived at Lound Hall (LH) for over 2 years before she died at the age of 89. She had moved there following a period in hospital where she had been admitted from a previous residential care home placement. In earlier life Maria had been a primary school teacher and was described as intelligent with an interest in current affairs. Maria was visited monthly by her son who, latterly, lived abroad. Her well-being was often noted as having improved considerably after his visits to her. During the time Maria was at LH, she had problems with her weight and with eating, infected pressure ulcers and other infections. Maria was often in pain as a result of her pressure ulcers and she was sometimes reluctant for her dressings to be changed. At the end of her life, following admission to hospital, Maria had grade 4 pressure ulcers across her body that had been poorly cared for. This meant that she had extensive areas of rotting flesh.